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May 21, 2015November 30, 2015

A Branding Exercise for Your Business

Have you ever struggled with finding a voice for your brand? Perhaps you were about to post something on your company’s social media page and asked yourself, “is this appropriate for me to share with my followers? Will this resonate with my target audience?” If so, then you’ll need to develop a personality for your business by doing a branding exercise.

Consider who your target audience is, and who they would like to engage with based on your product or service. For example, the personality of a wills & estates law firm will likely be formal, sensitive, and experienced so its voice will reflect that in all customer-facing communications—this includes its website material, brochures, social media posts, traditional advertisements, and more. It will influence the vocabulary, tone, and even colours and images featured in any, and all of its content. Can you imagine how inappropriate it would be for a wills & estates law firm to publish something that could be considered cheerful or humorous? Let me illustrate:

Isn’t that cringe-worthy? It’s an extreme case, but not having a clear understanding of your brand’s personality will confuse your target audience, and negatively impact your ability to sell to them.

Start building your brand’s personality by considering some thoughtful adjectives that align with your positioning in the market. I’ve put together a document that lists roughly 200 adjectives that can be considered when developing your brand’s personality. It’s available in two formats, so you can use whichever one best suits your brainstorming style:

Branding Exercise Chart — the first one is a simple chart which lists the adjectives, and allows you to organize them into three categories. Who you are, who you’re not, and who you want to be

Branding Exercise Flash Cards — the second is formatted as separated flash cards so you can print and cut them to physically categorize them. This method is more tangible so it makes the exercise fun and interactive if you’re working with a team.

What adjectives did you choose to describe your brand’s personality? Are there any that aren’t on the list, but should be? Let me know in the comments below!

Alex Geerts is a creative, compassionate digital marketer with a deep understanding of branding, content, and social. She’s an adventurer, animal lover, amateur photographer, and still uses the word “kewl.” Want to get in touch?